Bandage for horse&#39;s legs



y 31, 1955 o. H. MUNRETT BANDAGE FOR HORSES LEGS Filed Oct. 11, 1954 wane-"@015 ATTORNEYS United States Patent BANDAGE FOR HORSES LEGS Olga Harriet Muurett, Mount Vernon, N. Y.

Application October 11, 1954, Serial No. 461,633

3 Claims. (Cl. 128156) This. invention relates to bandages. More particularly, it relates to bandages for use in conditioning the legs of a horse.

The legs of a running horse, such as a race horse, trotter, pacer, or polo pony require careful attention in order to avoid permanent injury which will prevent the horse from running as fast as it would otherwise be able to do. The cannon or part of the leg between the knee (or hock) and the fetlock is highly susceptible to such injury. Permanent injury of the cannon may develop slowly over a period of time due to a failure to properly treat the cannons after each exercise period, or it may be occasioned by a failure to properly care for a strain inflicted suddenly upon over-exertion. In order to prevent permanent injury from such causes, a cold water bandage or liniment bandage is applied to the cannons of the horse after each exercise period, and where a strain has been inflicted suddenly, the strained cannon is kept covered with a cold water or liniment bandage for an extended period.

Heretofore, a cold water bandage has ben applied by wrapping the cannon with absorbent cotton batting, securing the cotton batting in place by wrapping a brace bandage (i. e. a strip of woven cotton) helically over the cotton batting, and then soaking the absorbent cotton batting with cold water by pouring or spraying cold water onto the outside of the brace bandage. The cold water passes through the brace bandage and is absorbed by the cotton batting.

The cotton batting is in the form of sheets and is called sheet cotton or cottons. These sheets are wide enough so that they will span the cannon and are long enough so that they can be wrapped at least two full turns around the cannon. Each sheet is felted on one side so that on this side its texture is that of a non-woven fabric. The other side is fluffy and its texture is that of absorbent cotton batting. Several sheets of this cotton batting are stacked together to form the absorbent cotton batting with which the cannon is wrapped.

The construction of a liniment bandage is the same as the construction, of a cold water bandage. However, the operation of a cold water bandage is to keep the cannon cool, whereas the operation of a liniment bandage is to cause liniment to pass through the pores of the hide covering the cannon so that liniment can work its healing effect on sore muscles, tendons, and ligaments, and, as a consequence of this difference in operation, the procedure followed in applying a liniment bandage is different than the procedure followed in applying a cold water bandage. In the case of a liniment. bandage, the groom applies liniment directly to the cannon while rubbing the cannon vigorously. This increases blood circulation within the cannon, generates heat, and causes the pores to open. The liniment is applied liberally and after the pores are well opened and the cannon is thoroughly soaked with liniment, absorbent cotton batting, as is used in making a cold water bandage, is wrapped around the cannon and secured in place with a brace bandage just as is done in applying a cold water bandage.

Bandages of this type comprising sheets of cotton batting secured in place with a brace bandage are also used in treating other injuries to the cannons. Thus, such bandages are used to cure infections, and when so used, the cotton batting is soaked with hot water rather than cold water. Also, they are frequently used to provide support and protection for the cannons during exercise and during the time that the horse is'being transported by truck or train. When used to provide support the bandages may be used wet or dry.

Such bandages have the disadvantages that they are cumbersome to handle and lack durability. The sheets are not strong enough to support their own weight plus the weight of water which they absorb or hold when saturated (i. e. when they are soaked). Therefore, they must be handled carefully and must be supported in place on the cannon before being soaked, and the services of a careful groom are required to soak the inside of the bandage as, after it has been applied and secured in place with brace bandage, the inside is relatively inaccessible. Moreover, the bonds between the fibers which make up the sheets of absorbent cotton batting are weak so that the sheets lack durability. After having been used about two times in bandages as hereinbefore described, separation and agglomeration of the fibers renders the sheets useless so that they must be discarded.

The present. invention provides a bandage for use in conditioning the cannons of the legs of a horse comprising a. layer of absorbent cellulose batting positioned between two pieces of loosely woven cheesecloth. The absorbent cellulose batting and cheesecloth are quilted together. This. construction imparts durability to the absorbent cellulose batting without impairing its effectiveness so that a bandage constructed according to the invention may be reused a substantial number of times before itseffectiveness is significantly impaired.

Advantageously, the bandage is made of sufficient length so that it may be wrapped at least two full turns around the cannon. This facilitates the application of a bandage of suitable thickness which fits substantially contiguously with the cannon all around, and which will retain the degree of tightness with which the band age is initially applied; Preferably, the outside surfaces of the layer of absorbent cellulose batting is felted, and advantageously this layer consists essentially of a stack of thin sheets of cotton batting each felted on one side.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a bandage according to the invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the bandage shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an expanded elevation view taken along line 33 in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged view of a portion of Fig. 1 showing the stitching used in the quilting of the bandage shown in Fig. 1; and

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken just below the knee (or hock) of a horses leg having a bandage according to the invention applied to the cannon thereof.

Referring to the drawings, the new bandage 5 comprises a considerable number of thin cotton sheets 6 stacked one on top of the other to form a layer 10 of absorbent cotton batting which is positioned between two pieces of loosely woven cheesecloth 9. The cotton sheets 6 and pieces of cheesecloth 9 are quilted together by quilting seams 11, and the edges 12. of the cotton sheets 6 and pieces of cheesecloth 9 along each edge 13 of the bandage are sewed together by seams 14.

The cotton sheets 6 are sheet cotton or cottons of the same nature as described hereinbefore. These sheets are about 0.7 ounce per square yard in weight and have a felted side 7 and a fluify side 8. The texture of the felted side is that of a non-woven fabric, and the texture of the fiuffy side is that of absorbent cotton batting. Advantageously, the cotton sheets are stacked with the outside sheets 6a felted side out, i. e. with the felted sides 7a of the outside cotton sheets 6a facing the pieces of cheesecloth 9, and preferably each of the cotton sheets disposed inwardly of the outside sheets 6a is arranged so that its fluffy side is facing the fluffy side of an adjoining cotton sheet, as shown in Fig. 3.

The pieces of cheesecloth 9 are loosely woven so that the cheesecloth will not interfere with absorption of liquid by the batting and will not prevent the liquid absorbed by the batting from thoroughly wetting the cannon. Cheesecloth coarser than about 40 x 36 count (i. e. 40 threads to the inch in one direction and 36 threads to the inch in the other direction) and preferably cheesecloth coarser than about 28 X 24 count is used. While there is no truly critical lower limit to the coarseness of the cheesecloth, the coarser it is the more susceptible it becomes to damage during normal use. Generally speaking, 20 x 12 count cheesecloth has been found to be sufliciently fine so that it does not become damaged during normal use to an objectionable extent.

The cheesecloth is arranged with the warp or woof of the cloth in the direction of the length of the bandage. Thereby the strength of the bandage in the direction of its length is significantly increased.

Each of the cotton sheets 6 and the pieces of cheesecloth 9 are of the same length and width as the bandage 5, and the cotton sheets 6 and the pieces of cheesecloth 9 are quilted together by a first group 11a and a second group 11b of parallel seams. The seams 11a are at about right angles to the seams 11b. The seams are spaced so that on the one hand the cotton sheets 6 are not compacted so tightly that their absorptive power is significantly reduced, and on the other so that substantial durability is imparted to the bandage. A spacing between the seams of each group 11a and 11b of from 2 to 4 inches has been found to give satisfactory results, and preferably this spacing is about 3 inches. When the cheesecloth is arranged with the warp or woof of the cloth in the direction of the length of the bandage, the seams 11 are advantageously sewn diagonally across the weave of the cheesecloth as shown in Fig. 1. This arrangement is preferred because it provides a strong bandage having sufficient elasticity so that it will expand and contract as desired with expansion and contraction of the cannon. When the bandage is constructed in this manner, quilting seams 11 preferably consist of zig-zag stitches 16. Such stitching results in each stitch securing in place a greater number of threads of the loosely woven cheesecloth. The edges 12 along each edge 13 of the bandage are sewn together by two seams 14 spaced an appreciable distance apart from each other. This provides a compact and firm boundary for the bandage 5 so that it retains its shape well.

Referring now to Fig. 1 and Fig. 5, the bandage 5 is long enough so that it can be wrapped, as shown in Fig. 5, at least two full turns around the cannon 17. As the bandage of the invention is strong, it may be pulled while being wrapped about the cannon to the extent necessary to obtain the desired tightness. After the bandage 5 has been wrapped about the cannon, it is secured in place with a brace bandage 18 which is wrapped helically over the outside surface 19 of the bandage 5. The bandage 5 fits substantially contiguously all around the cannon with almost no interruption adjacent the place 20 where the second turn begins.

The bandage of the invention is easily strong enough to support is own weight plus the weight of the full amount of water which it will absorb or hold when soaked. It is therefore not necessary with the bandage of the invention to wrap it around the cannon and support it in place before soaking it with water. The bandage of the invention can be immersed in water until it is soaked and then wrapped around the cannon. If, as is often the case, it is desired to keep the bandage wet for an extended period, this may be done by spraying or pouring water directly over the brace bandage or by removing the brace bandage and wetting the bandage of the invention while it is free of support except for maintaining the outside end of the bandage in place to prevent it from unwinding. When the cannon is treated with liniment, greater effectiveness is realized when the bandage of the invention is used because the bandage of the invention may be wrapped tightly about the cannon, so that, after a brace bandage has been applied, a uniformly compacted bandage is obtained. When a bandage is constructed with a stack of sheet cotton, as has been done heretofore, such a compacted bandage cannot be constructed. The stack of sheet cottons is not strong enough to permit any considerable degree of pulling, while it is being wrapped about the cannon, so that the absorbent cotton is not compacted until the brace bandage is applied and this results in nonuniform compacting of the absorbent cotton. A uniformly compacted bandage results in greater effectiveness, as it supplies liniment to the cannon evenly over the entire area thereof.

As a consequence of the highly durable character of the new bandage, it can be used well over a hundred times, e. g. a single bandage may be soaked, applied to the horses leg, maintained wet by soaking the bandage intermittently and then removed and hung out to dry, well over a hundred times. Further, whereas cotton sheets alone cannot be washed (for the bonds which hold the fibers together would give way during washing) the bandage of the invention may be washed, and washing even in a washing machine where it is subjected to vigorous agitation does not damage it. Moreover, these advantages of the bandage of the invention are realized without sacrifice in the effectiveness of the absorbent cellulose batting, for the cheesecloth enclosing it is sufficiently coarse not to interfere with absorption of liquid by the batting and prevent the liquid absorbed by the batting from thoroughly wetting the horses leg.

I claim:

1. A reuseable bandage adapted to be wrapped at least two full turns around the cannon of a horses leg consisting essentially of a layer of absorbent cotton formed of a continuous stack of thin sheets of cotton batting each felted on one side, said layer being positioned between two pieces of loosely woven cheesecloth and said thin sheets of cotton batting and said cheesecloth being quilted together, whereby without impairing the effectiveness of said absorbent cotton durability is imparted thereto so that it may be reused a substantial number of times before its effectiveness is significantly reduced.

2. A reuseable bandage adapted to be wrapped at least two full turns around the cannon of a horses leg comprising a layer of absorbent cotton which consists essentially of a stack of thin sheets of cotton batting each felted on one side, the outside sheets of said stack each being disposed with the felted side thereof out, said layer being positioned between'two pieces of loosely woven cheesecloth and said thin sheets of cotton batting and said cheesecloth being quilted together, the cheesecloth being coarser than about 28 x 44 count and arranged with threads of the cheesecloth extending in the direction of the length of the bandage, said cotton sheets and said cheesecloth being quilted together by a first and a second group of parallel seams, said first group of parallel seams being sewn at about right angles to said second group, and the edges of said cotton sheets and said cheesecloth being sewn together along each edge of the bandage,

whereby without impairing the effectiveness of said absorbent cotton, durability is imparted thereto so that it may be reused a substantial number of times before its effectiveness is significantly reduced.

3. A reuseable bandage according to claim 2 in which the seams of said quilting are sewn diagonally across the weave of the cheesecloth and in which said quilting seams consist of zig-zag stitches and in which the edges along each edge of the bandage are sewn together by at least two parallel seams spaced an appreciable distance from each other.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,039,312 Goldman May 5, 1936 2,544,797 Lippman Mar. 13, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 424,655 Great Britain Feb. 26, 1935 556,623 Great Britain Oct. 13, 1943 

